Troublemaking: Why You Should Organize Your Workplace

by Lydia Hughes, Jamie Woodcock

There are no unorganisable workers, only workers yet to be organised.

There has been an explosion of organising among workers many assumed to be unorganisable, from delivery drivers in London to tech workers in Silicon Valley.

The culmination of years of conversations on picket lines, in community centres, and in union offices, with workers in Britain, the US, India, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, and across Europe, Troublemaking brings together lessons from around the world. Precarious workers waste collectors in Mumbai show that no worker is “unorganisable,” cleaner organising at LSE and St Mary’s hospital in London and Sans-papier workers in France indicate that demanding more at work can lead to big wins. Struggles like The Water Wars in Cochabamba, Bolivia show how we can use our power beyond the workplace.

From these movements, Lydia Hughes and Jamie Woodcock draw a number of lessons about why organising at work is the first step in building another world. They put forward three principles for organising. First, the need for action.

Struggles can change the world, but they also change people who go through them. Rather than using action as a last resort, we need action to build a movement. Second, the need to build the rank-and-file of unions. Power comes from organising at work, not in trusting others to do it on our behalf. Third, democracy matters in organising. This is not only about winning, but also developing the confidence to build another kind of world. This is not a “how to” guide, but a set of principles for the politics of organising.

Genres: Politics

192 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2023

Reviews

[Elise Joshi]

Great intro to labor- learned some new labor stories but proud that I had the basics down.

[Nicole]

“A taste of collective power is the antidote to feeling powerless under capitalism, more so than any explanation of how the system works.”

[Jim]

This might very well be a three, four, or five-star book for many readers. For me it was entirely too basic and shallow in its research and analysis, though its goal of providing a small, short, focused snapshot of unions and such was probably met? Not entirely sure there, to be honest. I have read too much theory, history, economics and the like for this to be anything but a limp rehash of some serious topics. Unions are extremely polarizing for many people whether part of a union or not. Much of the "good parts" of capitalist work have been acquired via union efforts - something many workers are quite unaware of - but unions are also heavily bureaucratic and overly prone to graft, corruption, and favoritism, all things the union, in theory, is supposed to be against in principle. I am firmly anti-capitalist. The union is merely a method to make capitalism less awful, but that is like saying if I only punch you twice it is somehow better than if I had punched you three times. While objectively receiving two punches is "better" than three, neither scenario is desirable, right? Unions pull that third punch for management, who would just as soon punch you many more times. Why? Because they can. Capitalism works that way, and always will. Unions, while acquiring gains in their infancy, have done little to benefit the larger capitalist workforce in recent decades. Why? Because capitalism cannot succeed and flourish with strong worker rights and strong worker protections and better wages and more benefits and work-life balance. That would be communism. Not the communism most ignorant people think of - a la Russia under Stalin or China under Mao, the latter of which was slightly more communist than the former, strictly speaking, based on the incorrect definition of communism - but actual communism. Where the workers and management are equals in every way. There is no meaningful reason why the CEO makes more than the janitor (please don't argue skill value, as that argument withers when one thinks of garbage collectors, for example...), besides the fact that the CEO has power and wealth and can just replace the janitor whenever they feel like it, like if that janitor decided to ask for better working conditions, via a union (sub par choice, but not awful) or by revolutionary action that overthrows the capitalist order and replaces it with actual communism (ideal choice, though much more demanding).
Anyway. I would define this book as adequate, but at only the most basic level. Anyone who truly wants to be a troublemaker needs to embrace anti-capitalism with all their power. Unless we replace capitalism humans will cease to exist as a species. Capitalism is destroying the planet for human life, and any ridiculous notion that its tech will get us to Mars soon enough to belay that is not only laughable, it is patently ridiculous, since the problem isn't the planet we are on, it's the humans controlling what we do on it the planet that is the problem we must solve. And fast. Joining a union is not something I see as a step in the right direction, more like appeasement. And that is never a good thing when wholesale revolution is needed. Ask Neville Chamberlain about that...

[Eefje]

It's a very basic introduction into labour unions, with some interesting examples from recent labour unions actions in the UK and abroad. The second part of the book is an intro to socialism/anti-capitalism, which, again, is very introductory.

What struck me was the chapter about organizing white-collar workers, and the idea that it's harder for them to organize. Not sure if I agree, but definitely food for thought.

For a beginner, four stars. If you even have a tiny bit of knowledge about socialism, labour unions, etc., you might want to pick up something else.

[Dave]

I got a lot of the first part of the book with all the different real world examples of workplaces and industries were being discussed. That felt pretty empowering.

The rest was still good, but maybe not as impactful.

Four - but i hate talking to my co-workers - out of five

[Yvonne Zagzag]

This book was awesome and inspiring. It made me want to learn and read more and wasn’t too tough to comprehend. I will be reccomending this book to a lot of people!

Also hilarious that Miriam thought I was reading a book about organizing my desk at work.

[Grace Hennessey]

I liked this !! It had a lot of cool stories about groups unionizing and was very readable.

[Lexi Moser]

Very very good intro/basic info regarding unions and labor movements, well organized, I thoroughly enjoyed reading

[Sophie]

Amazing book, perfect mixture of storytelling and facts. Really fun to read, and I learnt a lot!
Excited to put the new knowledge to use

[Miranda Gamble]

A fantastic introduction to organising. What a great resource to have in the world for those interested in exploring this topic. Hats off guys!